England bowlers made the difference, says Cook

Despite taking a 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series, England captain Alastair Cook is not satisfied. He wants to continue in the same vein and win the last Test and the series as well. Excerpts from Cook’s post-match press conference...

On whether they will play for a win at Nagpur

Definitely. You can’t go into that game with the mentality of drawing the game. We know we can do something special, but it will need a lot of hard work to do that.

On his team’s victory in Kolkata

Very important. We had a tough 2012. The way we quickly managed to rectify some of our problems is a credit to our coaching staff and the leadership of Andy Flower, as well as the players, especially on this tour. Under a new captain things are slightly different. I can’t praise them enough.

On how the turnaround happened

A lot of hard work. What we have done is to replicate what we did in the nets out in the middle. Our bowlers have been outstanding. To restrict India to 300 on this wicket was a great effort. When they were 80-0 in the second innings to take six wickets was high-skill bowling. The spinner at one end, Swann getting Sehwag straightaway and then the reverse-swing from Jimmy. It was exceptional. What we’ve done is play close to our potential in the last couple of games. That’s why we have won.

On his 23rd Test hundred at Eden Gardens

I got a little lucky early on and went on to get a big hundred. In the beginning of the tour we said that the guys who get in must score big. It’s tough to get in but once you do, you get that rhythm and it’s about maintaining that rhythm. Scoring the 23rd hundred was a good moment for me. It’s been a stressful last couple of days. Personally, I want to keep scoring runs. Hopefully, I can do it one more time.

On doubts after losing the first Test

I firmly believed that we were doing the right things, especially in the three weeks before the first Test, the preparation period. These results are proving it. Of course, it doesn’t stop now, we’ve got to keep doing these things over the next few days.

On his run out

There will be a video somewhere for the rest of my life. I just had a brain-freeze moment. I was walking back and saw this ball coming back. My first reaction was to flinch when most people would have put the bat in. The realisation that I had done it was embarrassing.

On his sweep shots

When I was left out of England’s one-day side I played a lot of one-dayers for Essex. I was forced to learn new shots and realised that I could play them with confidence over a four-day or five-day game. I’ve worked hard alongside Gooch (batting coach Graham Gooch).

On the role of bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed

We’re lucky that we have got people like Mushy. He’s experienced in these conditions having grown up in Pakistan, playing in these conditions all the time. His nuggets of advice were invaluable. He works hard. We’ve also got Andy. The two are very good people.

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